Temples of Knowledge is a three-part in-person series tracing a consistent thread: how buildings providing education and fostering knowledge have been designed and reimagined, past and present. From school buildings converted to new uses, a department store turned art college, to institutions that have long supported informal and adult education, Portland has a wealth of educational buildings. These programs will highlight their architectural and social significance, the role they play in our communities, and their reinvention to meet today's needs.
These programs are presented in partnership with Greater Portland Landmarks and Mechanics' Hall, with generous sponsorship by Developers Collaborative, a community-based development firm. The series will be complemented by virtual talks and site visits offered by Greater Portland Landmarks, providing additional ways to explore the architecture of learning.
Please email Aimée Keithan or call 207.358.7064 with questions!
Note: At this time, one cannot purchase all three events at one time. Please click each button event button to purchase and checkout.
If you've made a donation to GPL in the last year,
use the code GPLLOVE for $3 off the regular ticket price as a thank you for your support!
The Schoolhouse and The City: Portland’s Buildings For Learning
From one-room schoolhouses to grand civic libraries, the buildings where Portland learned tell a story as rich as the city itself. This opening program grounds the Temples of Knowledge series in local and lived history, opening with an illustrated talk by Julie Larry that traces the history and architecture of schools, libraries, and other buildings that have shaped education in Portland over generations. Julie will be joined by panelists Bob Greene and Rick Romano for a moderated conversation bringing together historians and community members with direct ties to specific schools, spotlighting buildings that have fostered knowledge and the neighborhoods that grew up around them.
Date: Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Mechanics’ Hall, 519 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
Fee: $10 for the general public.
*If you've made a donation to GPL in the last year, please use the code GPLLOVE for $3 off the ticket price as thanks for your support!
Details: This is an in-person event only. The Arts District Garage, 511 Congress Street, is the preferred parking partner for Mechanics’ Hall. Street parking and other parking garages available nearby.
MEET OUR SPEAKERS
A native of Portland, Bob Greene is at least the eighth generation of his family to be born in Cumberland County, Maine. He can document a wedding in New Gloucester in 1783. After majoring in journalism at the University of Kansas, Bob eventually joined The Associated Press where he covered the funeral of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and racial disturbances in the Midwest. Later, as The AP’s tennis writer, Bob traveled the world following the sport. When he retired, he returned home to Maine where his genealogical search for his family led him to study the state’s history. He currently teaches a “Black History of Maine” course at the University of Southern Maine’s senior college while continuing his dedicated search for the world’s finest wine.
Julie Larry is the Senior Architectural Historian at Black Diamond Consultants. Formerly the Director of Advocacy at Greater Portland Landmarks, she has also served as President of the Board of Trustees and is currently an Advisory Trustee. As a partner for eighteen years at ttl-architects, an architecture and preservation firm in Portland, she was responsible for the restoration of the Castle in Deering Oaks and the Portland Observatory. She currently lives in Biddeford and serves on Biddeford's Historic Preservation Board.
Rick Romano is the owner of Papi & Romano Builders, a Portland, Maine general contracting firm he has led since its founding in 1977. A Munjoy Hill native, he brings deep roots in the city's historic neighborhoods to his work, and under his leadership the firm has built a reputation for historic preservation and sensitive renovation alongside new home building.
From Classroom to Community: New Lives for Historic Schools
What happens to a school building when the students leave? As Portland's communities and needs shift, many historic schools have outlived their original purpose — but not their potential. Using actual projects, Kevin Bunker of Developers Collaborative shares their hands-on approach to transforming former schools into housing and community spaces. A panel conversation follows on the real challenges and unexpected rewards of these projects including navigating preservation rules and construction realities and reckoning with the emotional pull a building holds for the people who once filled its halls.
Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Mechanics’ Hall, 519 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
Fee: $10 for the general public.
*If you've made a donation to GPL in the last year, please use the code GPLLOVE for $3 off the ticket price as thanks for your support!
Details: This is an in-person event only. The Arts District Garage, 511 Congress Street, is the preferred parking partner for Mechanics’ Hall. Street parking and other parking garages available nearby.
MEET OUR SPEAKER
Kevin Bunker is a founding principal of Developers Collaborative. Kevin founded DC with Richard Berman after graduating with distinction in 2007 from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design with a master’s in urban planning degree. A former municipal planner and lobsterman in the Rockland area, Kevin is a principal on all of DC’s current projects, which have averaged about $100 million per year in recent years and run the gamut from residential to industrial. Kevin brings experience in complex financing models including tax increment financing, use of tax credits, and other public-private partnerships, all leading to creative projects that build community and strengthen the Maine economy in innovative ways. Kevin is also an activist promoting the causes of smart growth and downtowns at the state and local levels. He was the recipient of the City of Portland’s prestigious Economic Development Achievement Award in 2019. Kevin lives in Portland with his wife Amanda and their daughters Alex and Natalie.
Learning Beyond School:
Member-Supported Libraries & Pursuit of Knowledge
Portland is home to one of the nation’s oldest continuously used “temples of knowledge” – Mechanics’ Hall. Founded in 1815 and home to the eighth-oldest member-supported library in the United States, the Hall was designed as a place where working people could gather, learn, share ideas, and pursue knowledge. Mechanics’ Hall belongs to a broader tradition of institutions created to expand access to literature and learning, including other libraries, athenaeums, and mechanics institutes. Join us for an illustrated talk and discussion with leaders from Mechanics’ Hall, the Providence Athenaeum, and the Boston Athenaeum to explore the history, evolution, and continuing relevance of these remarkable spaces.
Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Mechanics’ Hall, 519 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
Fee: $10 for the general public.
*If you've made a donation to GPL in the last year, please use the code GPLLOVE for $3 off the ticket price as thanks for your support!
Details: This is an in-person event only. The Arts District Garage, 511 Congress Street, is the preferred parking partner for Mechanics’ Hall. Street parking and other parking garages available nearby.
MEET OUR SPEAKERS
Matt Burriesci is the Executive Director of the Providence Athenaeum. During his tenure at the Athenaeum, membership has more than doubled, the Athenaeum has grown into one of the largest cultural institutions in the state of Rhode Island, and the organization has operated nine consecutive budget surpluses. He is the author of Nonprofit, which won the AWP Award for the Novel, and Dead White Guys: A Father, His Daughter, and the Great Books of the Western World, which has been translated into several languages. Between 1999 and 2011, he served in various capacities at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), including Executive Director. He also served as the Executive Director of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. He has written for many national outlets, including Slate, Guernica, and The Los Angeles Review of Books.
Leah Rosovsky has led the Boston Athenaeum as its Stanford Calderwood Director since 2020, stewarding one of America's oldest and most distinctive cultural institutions through a period of significant growth and renewal. Under her leadership, the Athenaeum has deepened its commitment to being a living part of Boston's intellectual and civic life and an active gathering place for ideas, scholarship, and community. Rosovsky came to the Athenaeum following a distinguished career in higher education, including nearly a decade as Harvard University's Vice President for Strategies and Programs. In that role, she led numerous successful initiatives that built consensus and addressed complex issues. She spent seven years as Executive Administrative Dean of Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences, where she developed a reputation for translating ambitious institutional vision into positive outcomes. Rosovsky has led the Board of Boston’s Temple Israel and is the current Chair of the Advisory Board of Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan. She also serves on the Board of the Nichols House Museum. She received her A.B. from Harvard College in 1978 and her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1984.
Annie Leahy is the inaugural Executive Director of Mechanics' Hall. Mechanics' Hall is committed to the innovative vision of its founders, the Maine Charitable Mechanic Association: to make knowledge, ideas, and arts accessible. Mechanics' engages the community through cultural events, educational programs, and affordable instruction. They are stewards of a landmark building that houses the 8th oldest membership library in the country and a grand ballroom and continue to guide the historic preservation of the Hall as a place to gather, celebrate, and learn. Leahy has over 20 years of experience working at both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. She has held senior positions in New York City at ABC News and the Tribeca Film Institute. As a founding staff member of the Tribeca Film Festival, she worked to bring cultural activity back to downtown Manhattan after 9/11 and to program global perspectives on the Middle East through cinema, combating xenophobia through cultural programming. She moved to Portland, Maine in 2009, as the Executive Producer and Director of Programming for PopTech in Camden, Maine. Leahy served on the board of SPACE Gallery from 2009 - 2021, most recently as Board Chair. She is an advisory board member for the Portland Bach Experience.
